Fatma Nasujo is currently the Global Head of Operational Excellence at Sokowatch. A financial services professional with 12+ years of experience working in FinTech, EdTech & banking, her expertise is in Operations, Tech & Finance, and she has used her skills to serve businesses across East Africa.
She’s passionate about financially empowering the under-served, and to that end, has worked with various companies including 4G Capital where she was the Chief Operations Officer, assisting them in designing products for this market. She’s the founder of Nasujo.com, a blog on financial literacy and digital finance trends.
Fatma, explain your job to a five-year-old.
I make sure neighborhood shops always have things to sell to their customers.
What has been the most important management decision of your career?
I fell in love with Operations and problem-solving so pursuing this even though my educational background is in computer science is probably one of the most important career decisions I have ever made. Working in Operations has provided me with great opportunities to solve problems and positively impact people’s lives by designing efficient systems. My technology education always helps in simplifying processes and knowing when and what to automate.
Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give your 18-year-old self?
Pursue knowledge and new experiences. Keep learning and be open to new perspectives. Get out of your comfort zone, it’ll help in learning new things. Taking risks and making mistakes makes for more meaningful learning. Sometimes it gets uncomfortable, but you’re building new muscle, so stick with it.
What are you currently reading?
This year I started reading multiple books at the same time. I am currently reading Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste, Working Backwards by Bill Carr and Colin Bryar and The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell.
If you did not have to sleep, how would you spend the extra hours?
I’d spend more time with my family, reading and on my other hobbies.